To Begin to Shine (Cancelled)
by Crimson-Moon-Beams
Summary: AU: Kalonice is a demi-goddess who wants one thing: to get her parents approval. In order to achieve this she decides to attend Nitesco, a school for all sorts of mythical creatures. Will Kalonice finally prove herself to her parents? Or will she fall?
1. Chapter One: The Letter

**A.N.: Hello everyone! Crimson-Moon-Beams a.k.a. Nikoru-chan here! So this is my latest story that I made up with the help of my friends. This story is actually a conjoined story with two of my friends. Each of our stories are from our own character's points of view so we're hoping it's something new and unique. The story from the character ****Keket****'s point of view can be found at **_**Tasty-Clarice**_** (no italics) homepage and the story from ****Eámanë****'s point of view can be found at **_**MissImpossible1352**_** (again, no italics) homepage. If you want to read it from the character's point of view you can get there by clicking on these links:**

**.net/u/1263528/ This is the link to MissImpossible1352 homepage.**

**.net/u/1775307/ This is the link to Tasty-Clarice homepage**

**To Begin to Shine**

**Chapter One**

**The Letter**

I was awoken by a loud ringing sound in my ear. I rolled over and moaned. The ringing stopped and I sighed with relief, until the ringing started again and pierced my eardrums.

"I swear to Zeus…" I whispered under my breath. I heard a loud bang, turned over, and stared at the ceiling.

"For the love of Hera I'm up already!" I yelled.

"Are you sure about that?" I jumped and pulled my pure white covers up to my chest. My face fell and I glared at the floating boy leaning on my window pane.

"Hermes it's rude to come in without knocking." I told him coldly. Hermes smiled at me. His eyes sparkled like they always did and his smile was mischievous as always. His dark brown hair fell in curls around his head and he was wearing a toga with one strap. His face was beautiful, like all the Gods and Goddesses, but I could see through that in a second.

"I'm not technically 'in' so it doesn't matter does it?"

"Hermes why are you here anyway?" I asked. I ran my hair through my hand. It got stuck in a tangle of dark auburn curls and a let my hand fall limply back to the bed. I sighed and looked around the room. Everything was in place, perfectly, the same as everything in my life. I sighed again. I turned back to the window and nearly fell out of my bed. Hermes had moved into my room and was floating inches from my face.

He smiled. "I don't like it when you ignore me." He said.

"And I hate it when you come into my room without my permission. Now why in the name of Hades are you here?" I demanded.

"Oh no reason, I just felt like playing with you. Poor little demi-goddess stuck down at the base of Mount Olympus." I grabbed my pillow and stuffed it in his face. Hermes' voice was muffled and his arms stretched out as I pushed him back.

"Ok…stop…I…can't…breathe." He managed to say. I pulled the pillow away and Hermes began choking for breath.

"Knock it off we both know you don't need to breathe."

"I know but it's fun to pretend to be mortal…or a demi-god." Hermes said with a smirk. I grabbed the pillow again and whacked him with it. He flew back and almost back out the window.

"Dang, you have one hard hit. All that mortal work has got you pretty buffed up. I guess you do take after your dad." Hermes said taking the pillow from me.

"Hermes I swear to Athena if you don't tell me what you want I'm going to do something no demi-goddess should ever do…"

"The dishes?"

"That's it!" I jumped out of the bed and grabbed my Libra. I turned and glared at Hermes. He was floating with his hands behind his head and looked as calm as ever.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Tip the scales?" Hermes asked humorously. I walked over to Hermes and was about to smack him over the head when there was a loud bang.

"Oh, I think the 'Big Man' doesn't want you doing that. Attacking a God goes against the rules does it not?" He asked smirking.

"I swear to…"

"I think that's enough swearing for now. The Gods can only do so much at once. Which would also bring me to the point as to why I'm here, your sweet little mommy and daddy have asked me to summon you. They were pretty desperate for me to come get you. They need you to come so they can have a 'talk'." Hermes emphasized the word "talk" with his fingers.

"They what?" I asked stopping.

"They want to see you. They are allowed to see their daughter every now and then. Oh and I suggest you bring that useless Libra of yours, you're probably going to need it." Hermes sighed and floated by me flicking the Libra with his finger. I pulled it away from him protectively.

"It's not useless, I just…don't know how to use it properly." I said sadly looking down at my Libra. It was true, I didn't know how to use my Libra properly. Which was mostly the reason why I was only a demi-goddess. I was supposed to be able to control the fates by the time I was fifteen. At least I was expected to. The only problem was, I was about as good at reading the fates as Athena was at being stupid. No matter what I did I just couldn't make it work. Maybe once in awhile I could make a proper reading, but that was a very long while.

That also explained why I was stuck at the bottom of Mount Olympus. Until I was able to read the fates with my Libra, I was trapped as a demi-goddess. This also forced me to try to be as perfect as I possibly could in order to prove to my parents I could be a full Goddess. It wasn't that easy though, especially when your parents were Aphrodite and Hephaestus. I looked up as I felt a hand on my head. Hermes was floating inches from my face again and was patting me on the head.

"There, there little one. I'm sure you'll figure something out. For now I suggest you get a move on."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well you were actually supposed to be there, oh, about ten minutes ago."

"I what?!" I yelled. Hermes smiled and quickly kissed me on the cheek before flying out the window.

"Hermes you little jerk!" I yelled. Hermes poked his head back in the window and smiled.

"Better hurry, I'll be outside when you're ready. I suggest you brush your hair too, I've seen mauled animals that looked better." If there was something that wouldn't break I would have tossed it at him but he was already out the window. I quickly put my Libra down and ran around the house. I quickly had a shower and brushed my hair. I pulled it back and put a golden diadem on my head. I pulled on a white slip and then my white formal toga over top. The sleeves had small golden circles on them and I had a white sheer sash tied around my waist with gold trimming. I placed golden circlets around my wrists and upper arms. I weaved gold strands through my hair. I looked at myself quickly in the mirror. My emerald eyes glowed back as I put gold eye shadow on my eye lids. I looked at myself over and smiled. Ready.

I ran outside.

"Hermes, Hermes where the heck are…" I stopped as Hermes jumped in front of me. He stopped and stared at me. His eyes grew wide and he sat in the air and whistled.

"Well look at you. Who are you trying to impress anyway?" He asked sarcastically.

"Shut up Hermes." I replied. Hermes sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"And the illusion is shattered as she opens her mouth." I glared at him and he put his hands up protectively.

"Keep looking at me like that and my heart could stop." He said.

"What heart?" I asked bitterly.

"Ah, touché my good woman. Now shall we go?" He asked. I nodded and put my hand out. Hermes took it and before I knew it I was heading up Mount Olympus. After what felt like seconds I was dropped in the center of Mount Olympus. Hermes floated beside me like he usually did and followed me as I walked through the Realm of the Gods. I passed by Gods and Goddesses, a sight many mortals only dreamt about. They were amazing beings, an aura floating around all of them. They were beautiful, and I wanted to be with them so much it hurt.

"I wouldn't stare it's rude." Hermes suddenly said.

"Don't start with me Hermes." I warned as Athena, the Goddess wisdom, walked by.

"Ah, Kalonice, you've come back for another visit?" She asked. Her little owl hooted on her shoulder.

"Yes Lady Athena. My mother and father want to meet with me." I replied politely. That's right, just keep the façade of perfection. A perfect mask, one I had worked on and molded throughout my entire life, one that I wore so perfectly now, it was almost apart of me. The only time I let it break was when I was around Hermes.

"Now Kalonice you know better than to call me 'Lady' anything." Athena replied with a smile.

"I know Lady Athena." I replied with a graceful bow. Athena smiled and touched my cheek.

"You are so beautiful, just like your mother. Don't forget to stay true to yourself though." She advised.

"Yes Lady Athena." I said. Athena smiled and bowed respectfully before walking off. When she was out of earshot Hermes flew closer to me.

"Hey, how come she gets so much respect? Where's my respect?" He asked annoyed.

"I lost my respect for you long ago." I replied. Hermes scowled at me but didn't say anything else during the walk.

The walk to my parents' house was quiet and slightly awkward. Hermes continuously floated beside me the entire time. I greeted Gods and Goddesses as they walked by me. Demi-Gods and demi-goddesses walked by me doing their chores. Each of them bowed respectfully. I sighed. I was the same as them, but the difference was I had a chance to become a goddess. Many of these demi-gods were stuck as they were. Half-god, half-human or other race unable to be anything more because of their parents' choice.

I sighed again.

"Something bugging you?" Hermes asked suddenly.

"No, I'm just nervous is all." I replied.

"Why? They're your parents."

"I know, but…ugh never mind, we're here." I said as we came to my parents' house. It was an elegant mansion with the classic columns that Greece was famous for. The roof was a cream colour just like the building. There were roses planted around the house and two statues of cupid pointing at each other on a small walkway up to the front door. I opened the small gate and closed it behind me. I turned to Hermes and managed to pull a small smile.

"Here goes nothing." I said. Hermes looked genuinely concerned, for once.

"I'll be around if you need me." He said.

"Thank you. I'll be back…eventually." Hermes smiled and slowly flew off. I turned and took in a deep breath. I walked up to the front door and knocked. A young demi-goddess I knew of named Alena answered the door. She worked as my mother's maid. She was small in everyway and had a blonde bob cut and bright blue eyes.

"Oh, Miss Kalonice, your parents have been waiting."

"Yes I know. Sorry I didn't mean to be late. And Alena you know you don't have to call me 'Miss'." _I feel like such a hypocrite_, I thought rolling my eyes. Alena blushed slightly and ushered me in. She led me through the large mansion to the second floor and down a large corridor until we came to a large door with intricate frame work. _Dad probably made this for mom_, I thought bitterly. My father was always making things for my mother and always giving her what she wanted. If she wanted a Persian rug, he would get her a Persian rug, if she wanted Zeus' head on a silver platter, he would get it for her. I rolled my eyes and Alena knocked quietly.

"Yes?" A low voice answered.

"My lord, miss Kalonice is here." Alena said politely. There was a sudden rush of feet and the door flew open. Alena quickly stepped to the side as my father rushed out and lifted me in a large hug.

"Oh my little angel! Look at how big you are! You look just like your mother." I smiled and hugged my father back.

"Hello daddy. I missed you." My father put me down and smiled. I smiled back. Hephaestus, the God of craftsmanship, was my father and he was one of the sweetest men I knew. He was considered the, in a word, ugliest God, but to me he was the best father. His jade green eyes sparkled as he looked at me and his auburn hair fell in a tattered mess around his head. His beard was stringy and fine but only made him look more homely.

"Come in, come in." He said and pushed me through the door excusing Alena. I smiled and looked around the room. I was surprised that my mother wasn't there. There was a large sofa in the center at the back of the room. There were sheer curtains hanging around them and small columns with cupid statues and rose vases on them. There were two arm chairs facing the sofa but off to the side. Everything was lined with gold and had white silk coverings. The walls were a soft yellow and large windows filled the room with light. My father stopped me in the middle of the room and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Now let me get a good look at you. I haven't seen you in what feels like years." I smiled trying to stop myself from rolling my eyes. It _had_ been years since I was last in my parents' home. The last time I was here was back when I was fifteen and being told that I wasn't allowed to stay on Mount Olympus anymore.

"Well you have my eyes, and my hair even though yours is darker. That much is for certain, but you definitely take after your mother in looks." He said winking.

"Oh I think I'll be the judge of that." My father and I looked up as my mother, Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty, walked into the room. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a French braid and shone in the light. Her violet eyes were observing and bright and her skin was fair. She was the most beautiful and sought after Goddess in all Mount Olympus, but she was given to my father and often mentioned how much she hated it. I looked at her and felt all confidence drain away. She was my mother, my role-model, and there was no way I could ever live up to her expectations. She was already displeased with me for not being able to read the fates properly.

My mother walked over to me and stepped in front of my father. She was wearing a low-cut tank top that showed her voluptuous curves and a short skirt that showed off her long legs. My father stepped to the side and his smile widened.

"Isn't it exciting dear? Kalonice has come to visit us."

"Yes I know I was the one who summoned her." My mother replied nonchalantly. My father's face fell slightly but he tried to keep his smile. My smile was already long gone and I stared back into my mother's eyes. She was such a hateful woman. Suddenly she lifted her hands and put them on my face.

"Now let me get a good look at you." She started turning my head from side to side.

"Let's see now, strong cheek bones, good, face falls to a nice pointed chin, very good, skin is soft, no blemishes. Eyes shine nicely, but one seems to be a little larger than the other but you can blame your father for that. Hair is sleek and shining, very nice. All in all you're a pretty girl, for a demi-goddess anyway. Now then let's look at your body shall we." My mother took a step back and put her hands on my shoulders. She spun me to the left and then to the right.

"Strong shoulders but they are nice, waist is small but there aren't many curves, more like a tiny arch than a curve. Posture is very good, excellent, behind is nice but not much of a bump, chest is average but I do believe you could use a nice push-up bra to add volume…"

"Mother please…" I asked turning slightly red.

"Now, now chest size is nothing to be ashamed of. Now I want you to flex for me…" My mother put her hand on my abdomen. I rolled my eyes and flexed my abdominals. Finally my mother's eyes showed a sign of appreciation.

"Well, at least we know you've kept up with your work-out routines. Excellent, if there's one thing I can't stand it's laziness. Because what happens to people who are lazy…?" She asked. I looked to the side and crossed my arms.

"Well…?" She added pushing me for an answer.

"They gain weight and become…above average size." I added to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"They become fat sweetie, there's no getting around that, and if there's one thing I will not have it is fat offspring. Oh honey I'm so happy to see you!" She said suddenly changing into a real mother. She hugged me and kissed my cheek. I hugged her back awkwardly. At least I had passed one obstacle.

"Now come and sit down I have something to talk to you about." _If you didn't I wouldn't be here_, I thought bitterly. My mother put her hand on my back and led me towards the sofa. She stopped by one of the armchairs and sat me down in it before continuing gracefully to the couch. My father followed and sat down beside her. He took my mother's hand and she awkwardly held it back. I sat as straight and still as I could. I placed my hands in my lap and crossed my right ankle behind my left. Perfection was key.

"So, mother, father, why am I here?" I asked.

"Well I honestly don't know. I'm shocked that you're even here in the first place." My father replied with a bright smile. My mother looked at him and patted his hand with a smug smile on her face. She turned back to me and smiled as sweetly as she could manage.

"Well the reason you're here sweetheart is because the other day I got a little message from a certain someone concerning you." She said. She suddenly pulled a little letter out of who knows where and waved it in front of my face.

"A letter…concerning me?" I asked confused. Why would someone be writing to my parents, or in this case pa_rent,_ about me?

"Yes a letter concerning you. You see I pulled a few strings and well… Oh here why don't you read it." My mother passed me the letter excitedly. I took it and looked at the envelope. The hand writing was very fine and it had my name written across it. I turned the letter over and saw that the wax seal had been broken. _Of course a letter for me was already opened_. No privacy when your parents were gods. I lifted the seal and pulled the letter out. The same hand writing covered a cream coloured page.

"_Dear Miss Kalonice of Greece,_

_It has come to our attention that you, the daughter of Hephaestus and Aphrodite, have been unable to attain the title of true goddess because of your inability to control your power to read the fates. We feel unfortunate for this and have realized that you will not be able to master the power on your own. That is why we have decided to accept you into the Nitesco Academy. Here you will learn not only how to control your powers but will also learn literature, languages, math, sciences, and many other classes if you choose to take them. Here you will interact with students of other races and ethnicity and be welcomed into an environment where you are not the only student who needs help with their abilities. _

_In order to get to the school please take the ticket that was sent with this letter and go to the nearest train station to you. You will need to look for the last train in the station. A special car is set up for the students but don't worry about that, someone will be there to lead the students into the proper cars. The ticket will let them know the difference between the students and normal passengers._

_Books, your uniform and other educational needs will of course be covered by the school and we can not wait for you to join us at Nitesco Academy._

_Yours Truly,_

_Tsunade Senju_

_Nitesco Academy Headmistress"._

__I stared at the letter.

"So what do you think? Isn't it exciting?" My mother asked excitedly.

"I…I…" I couldn't form any words. What was I supposed to say? This was all so sudden. Just when I thought maybe my parents were going to let me come back home…

"Honey are you ok?" My father asked. I realized suddenly that tears were forming at the corners of my eyes and beginning to fall down my face.

"So I really am not good enough." I whispered to myself.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" I heard my mother ask. I slowly looked up at her as tears fell down my face. Both my parents faces fell and they were about to jump over to me when I jumped up and ran for the door. I opened it and slammed it behind me before running out of the house. I rushed passed home after home, God after god, until I finally made it to a secluded spot on Mount Olympus. It was about the only place where I knew no one came to. It was a small clearing in the middle of an olive orchard. It was quiet and secluded, and somewhere I could vent. I grabbed the diadem out of my hair and threw it against a tree. I ripped the bracelets off my arms and threw them across the clearing. I stamped around the clearing and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Is there a reason you're screaming? I think the olives are shaking in fear." I looked over to see Hermes floating near the edge of the clearing. He was smiling, but as soon as he saw my face his smile fell and concern washed over his face. He was immediately in front of me.

"Are you ok? What happened?" He asked. I felt my throat close and my chest became tight. The tears flowed freely down my face. I jumped at Hermes and wrapped my arms around him.

"Kalonice…what're you…?" He asked completely caught off guard. I couldn't reply, my throat was too tight. The only thing I could do was sit there and sob uncontrollably into Hermes' shoulder. Hermes was quiet the entire time after his question, and he occasionally patted my shoulder.

"They're sending me away." I finally said when I found my voice. Hermes lifted me off his shoulder and stared at me.

"They're what?"

"They're sending me away." I repeated.

"Who's sending you away? Where?" He asked. Hermes' voice was filled with worry.

"My mother…and father…they're sending me to some Academy or something. It's supposed to help me control my abilities but I don't want to go! I don't want to leave! I'm happy here." New tears started to fall down my face. Hermes wiped them away and a small smile crossed his face.

"If you keep crying you're going to look like a cherry." I hit him in the arm.

"This isn't funny Hermes! My own parents are sending me away and all you want to do is make jokes?!"

"Calm down. You know your parents wouldn't just send you away for no good reason. Maybe your mom, but never your father. It's obvious they want you to go to the school to learn to control your powers. They _want_ you to learn to control your powers so you can join them here on Mount Olympus. I think that's why they decided to send you to a school for it. To be perfectly honest you weren't making much progress here by yourself." I opened my mouth to object but closed it when it suddenly dawned on me that Hermes, for once, was right.

My parents had always loved me and I did love them, but when they sent me away to live at the base of Mount Olympus, it was like a wall was built between us. I stayed in solitude for almost two weeks before Hermes managed to get me to leave the house. It was then that I vowed I would prove myself to my parents and gain my spot back on Mount Olympus as Kalonice, Goddess of the Fates. I stood to my feet and wiped some loose blades of grass from my toga. I turned to Hermes and smiled.

"Thank you." I said. Hermes blushed slightly and turned his head to the side while scratching his cheek.

"Yeah, well, that's what big brothers are for." He said shyly. I smiled again. Hermes wasn't really my older brother, but he was the closest thing I had to an actual sibling.

"I guess I better get back to the house. I doubt they've sent anyone to find me but you can never be sure with my dad." Hermes smiled and nodded. I picked up the bracelets and diadem and put them back into place. Hermes then led me back out the clearing and towards my parent's house. When we finally made it back the house looked exactly as it had when I had left. No blade of grass had even moved. I looked at Hermes and shrugged my shoulders. He chuckled and this time followed me into the house. Alena was happy to see I was back and took me back to the bright room. My dad was immediately up and smothering me with a hug as soon as I walked into the room.

"My dear I am so sorry! You must think we're horrible parents! Will you ever forgive us?!" He asked tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"Oh Hephaestus stop acting like a child." My mother said sourly while looking at her nails. My father stopped hugging me and smiled. He went back over to my mother and sat on the couch next to her.

"Oh, Hermes, what are you doing here?" My mother asked.

"I was accompanying Kalonice." Hermes replied. My mother looked up at him and electricity filled the air when their eyes met. Hermes hated my mother and my mother loathed Hermes. She figured he was a stupid fool who was only good for sending messages and being the Gods' lackey. Hermes thought Aphrodite was a stuck up snob who was about as smart as a dead cow.

"How very noble, but don't you have a message to deliver or something?" She asked sweetly.

"No not right now." Hermes replied.

"Well this is a family matter so if you wouldn't mind…"

"To Kalonice I am family."

"What a bold boy, but I really think you must be going. My husband, daughter, and I..."

"So now you decide to be a mother and not when you're daughter is upset?"

"I will always be her mother."

"But only when it best suits you."

"Hermes…" I whispered. I was trying to stop them from fighting. Right now they were exchanging words very calmly but there was always a calm before the storm.

"Listen boy I think it's time for you to go. This family needs to talk." My mother said her eyes narrowing.

"I already told you, I am Kalonice's family." Hermes replied coldly.

"Unless you happen to be one of my sons I suggest you leave." My mother said her voice rising.

"From what I've heard I very well could be!" Hermes yelled back.

"Hermes that's enough." I snapped. Hermes looked at me and his face fell.

"Oh, Kalonice, I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"Hermes it's ok but I think you should go. Just stay outside the door if it makes you feel better, but please go." I said not making eye contact. Hermes opened his mouth to respond but closed it and floated slowly out of the room. I waited until I heard the door close behind me before I looked up again. My mother's face was tight and angry and my father's face was calm but sad. The room was silence and tense. When I couldn't take it anymore I finally spoke.

"I'll go to the academy." My mother and father suddenly turned to me and looked at me like they just realized I was in the room.

"Oh, oh you will?" My mother asked.

"Yes. I'd like to first ask for your forgiveness for running out of the room as rudely as I did. I was just…confused and I needed to get my thoughts in order."

"Oh sweetie of course you have our forgiveness. We shouldn't have put this much pressure on you without your consent first." My father said the usual shine returning to his eyes.

"Yes your father is right. It is perfectly fine. So you will go to the school?" My mother asked again.

"Yes I will go on one condition." I said.

"Yes? What condition? Just name it sweetheart and we'll do it." My father said happily.

"I…I…" I bit my lip. My mother was going to kill me for asking.

"Sweetheart use your words." My mother said.

"I will go to the academy, as long as Hermes is the one to escort me to the train station." My father opened his mouth to answer but my mother was already up and cutting him off.

"What?! That fool?! I will not have him taking my precious daughter to the train station! I'll ask one of the nice demi-gods to do it. Alena could do it for goodness sake!" She yelled angrily. If there was one thing that she couldn't stand, it was Hermes.

"I don't want some demi-god or Alena to take me. I want it to be Hermes. Hermes is the closest thing I have to a friend and I want him to be the one to see me off. You're both too busy to come but Hermes can do it."

"Oh I won't argue with you that the boy is too lazy to be busy, but I will not have him taking you to the train station. Maybe D…"

"I don't want _him_ to take me." I said quickly cutting my mother off. If there was one person in all Mount Olympus I didn't want to take me to the train station, it was him.

"The only person I want to take me to the station is Hermes. If he doesn't take me, I won't get on that train." I stated finally.

"But he-"

"Aphrodite, I think the girl has set her mind and no matter what you say it won't change it." My father suddenly said. He rarely ever said my mother's full name unless he meant what he said. My mother stared at him and she narrowed her eyes.

"You're always spoiling her and giving her what she wants. Fine, take Hermes. I'm going to go do my nails." My mother said and stormed out of the room. I looked at my father and smiled.

"Thank you daddy." I said.

"It was my pleasure sweetie. I know Hermes means a lot to you. And don't worry about your mother. As soon as she finishes her nails she'll wish she hadn't said all that."

"No I won't!" I heard a voice yell from the other side of the door. I looked at my father and he shrugged his shoulders. I stood up and hugged my father.

"Thank you again. I'll be sure to write and let you know how my studies are." I told him.

"Alright, and I'm sure your studies will be perfect. Good-bye honey, have a safe trip." He said kissing me on the cheek.

I smiled. "Good-bye daddy." I kissed him and walked towards the exit. My face fell as I walked to the door. Of course my studies were going to be perfect, they had to be.

"So are we going to the train station?" Hermes asked as we left the house.

"Not yet, there's one more thing I need to do before we go."

"Pack?"

"No, I want to visit Nana Hera before I go." I replied. Hermes looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and we continued on. Hera was Zeus' wife and queen of the Gods. She was also my mother, Aphrodite's, mother. Unfortunately Hera treated me more like a daughter than Aphrodite always claiming I was more like a daughter to her than a granddaughter. I always tried to visit her whenever I was summoned to Mount Olympus.

Hermes and I walked to the center of Mount Olympus and turned north. Hera's home was like a castle and was placed at the very peak of Mount Olympus. It was a grand home with large columns holding it in place and clouds surrounding it. It was white with a black roof and wore the Ancient Greece look very well. Hermes and I walked up to the front door and knocked.

"Oh, hey there Kalonice how are you?" I was surprised to see who answered the door.

"Oh, Uncle Hercules, what are you doing here?" I asked. Hercules was an idol among demi-gods. He was sent to the mortal world and ascended as a God when he fell in love with a human woman and saved her from Hades. He chose the life of a mortal, but he came up to visit every now and then.

"I was just visiting mom and dad. You here to visit them too?" He asked. Hercules had wavy red hair, a handsome face, and bright blue eyes. He was tall and very well built.

"Yeah, my parents are sending me to some academy and I thought I might as well say hi while I was here."

"Oh is that so, how is my sister anyway?" Hercules asked.

"Stuck-up, snobby, bratty, annoying…take your pick." Hermes answered scornfully. I glared at him but Hercules laughed.

"Yeah that sounds just like her. Well I better go, I'm needed at home, there's a baby on the way after all."

"You're having a baby?!" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, due any day now too. When you're not studying feel free to come visit." He said and patted my head. I nodded and smiled brightly.

"I'd love to." I replied.

"I thought so. Alright I better go, see you around small-fry."

"Bye Uncle Hercules." I said and waved as he left.

"Ugh he's so lucky, he ascended to being a God by falling in love with a woman and saving her, I wish I could do that." I said after Hercules was out of ear-shot.

"What, fall in love with a woman?" Hermes asked. I hit him on the arm.

"No I meant ascend to being a Goddess that easy." I glared at him.

"Alright calm down I was kidding." He said. He then started floating into the house. I followed after him and we were soon walking into the center of the house. We walked down a hallway and into a bright room. Hera was sitting on a long sofa wearing a shining pink dress and a sheer pink shawl around her arms. Her light pink hair was pulled back and she was wearing a tiara. Her violet eyes were fixed on a book she was reading. She looked up as she heard our approaching footsteps. A sweet smile crossed her face.

"Kalonice, what a pleasant surprise." She said in her sweet, whispery voice.

"Hello nana Hera, where's grandpa Zeus?" I asked looking around.

"Oh he's gone to cause another thunderstorm on the west coast. You know how he is when he gets bored. What brings you to Mount Olympus?" She asked.

"My mother wanted to talk to me. She's sending me to an academy to help train myself how to read the fates."

"What? An academy?" Hera asked completely shocked.

"Yes, it's called Nitesco or something like that. It has the classes I need to train myself, at least according to this pamphlet that came with my letter anyway. I think it might be exciting though. I'll get to learn some new things, and I'll be a full goddess before you know it." I said with a smile. Hera looked at me but she didn't smile back.

"Kalonice, sweetheart, I do agree this academy is a good idea for your education, but I think you should be careful not to put too much pressure on yourself. Remember to take it in steps. You won't become a goddess all at once." I looked at Hera. What did she mean "take it in steps"? I had been taking it in steps my entire life. It was about time I finally got something for all my hard work. I couldn't tell her that though, so I just smiled.

"Oh don't worry nana Hera, I'll be fine." I said happily. Hera looked at me gravely but a small smile crossed her face.

"Alright dear. I won't keep you any longer then, you probably have a train to catch."

"How do you know?" I asked surprised. I had never even mentioned having to go on a train.

"Oh a queen just knows these things." She replied winking at me. I smiled and we both stood. I hugged her and she hugged me back.

"Be careful my child." She whispered into my ear.

"I will, I promise." I whispered back. We released each other and smiled.

"Good-bye Kalonice. Hermes be sure to take care of her." She said with a sweet smile.

"Don't worry your majesty, she'll be in good hands." Hermes said saluting.

"Bye nana Hera, say hi to grandpa Zeus for me." I said while waving. Hera waved back, sat down and returned to her book. Hermes and I left the house and headed for the center of Mount Olympus again.

"So are we heading back to your house now?" Hermes asked.

"Yeah, I need to get packed and head to the train station. I think I'll feel better once I actually am on the way there." Hermes smiled and took my hand. He lifted me into the air and started carrying me back down Mount Olympus. When we finally got back down to the house I started feeling homesick. I belonged on Mount Olympus, and I was going to do whatever I could to make it there.

"I'll be waiting out here." Hermes said. I nodded and ran into the house. I quickly changed out of my toga and into more casual wear. I kept the arm bands and bracelets on but threw on a loose white halter, and black Capri jeans. I quickly took the diadem out and threw my hair into a ponytail with my bangs going across my forehead and two long strands falling past my chest. I grabbed the only suitcase I had and started packing. I sighed when I finished. I didn't even have enough things to fill my small suitcase. All I really had was a few shirts, pants, my formal toga, jewelry, make-up, brush, toothbrush and paste, some other bathroom necessities that a female might require, and my Libra.

I came out of the house and put my hand my forehead to block the sun. I looked around but couldn't find Hermes.

"Where the heck did he go?" I asked myself looking around.

"I'm here calm down." I turned around to see Hermes standing behind me. My jaw dropped. Hermes was wearing black jeans, a skin-tight white shirt, and a leather jacket. It was hard to believe that only ten minutes ago he was wearing a short toga and floating around me, now he looked like a Greek model.

"What happened to _you_?" I asked.

"I changed alright. I can't exactly go walking around a train station in a toga." He replied.

"That's true, you should wear that outfit more often, you look good." I said smiling. Hermes' face became red and he turned trying to hide it.

"We should get going." He said. I smiled and followed him as he led the way to the train station.

The train station was as busy as ever. Hermes and I had trouble getting through the crowds. It didn't exactly help that girls kept stopping Hermes, and boys kept stopping me. Finally we made it to the last platform of the train station. People stared at the both of us as we walked past.

"They're beautiful."

"Do you think they're models?"

"If not models, actors at least." I looked around and sighed.

"Something wrong?" Hermes asked.

"I don't like people staring at me, it's creepy."

He laughed. "Well don't worry about it. Here's your train." Hermes said pointing at a normal looking electric train. I was expecting a gothic looking steam engine train with a smokestack at least, but it was just a normal, modern electric train.

"Are you sure that's it?" I asked.

"Last platform, last train, yeah, that is it." Hermes said. I took in a deep breath.

"Ok, let's do this." I said to myself.

"Here you go." Hermes said passing me my ticket and letter just in case. I smiled at him and he smiled back. Before he could stop me I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you Hermes, for everything. You're the best big brother I've ever had." I told him. Hermes hugged me back awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, no problem." I released him and smiled. I quickly kissed him on the cheek and ran forward. I turned around and waved. Hermes was bright red and it took him a moment to realize I was waving before he waved back.

"H-have fun." He said.

"Bye Hermes!" I yelled and walked toward the train. I went up to the conductor and passed him my ticket. He looked me up and down.

"Go down to the front of the train and show the conductor there your ticket. I can't believe how young some of these first-class passengers are." He whispered the last part under his breath. I shrugged and took my ticket back. I walked down to the front of the train and found another conductor. I looked at him and immediately felt there was something odd about him. He was…different. I walked up to him and passed him my ticket. I realized I was holding my breath and was really tense. He looked at me and then at the ticket. Suddenly he smiled.

"Hey there, welcome to the Nitesco car. If you don't mind me asking what race are you?" I released my breath shocked. It was like he was a completely different person. He smiled brightly.

"'Race'?" I asked confused.

"Yeah you know, elf, nymph, werewolf, demon, angel, vampire, you know, race."

"Uh, demi-goddess?" I said more like a question. He looked at me again shocked.

"Wow, we don't get a lot of those around here. That's pretty interesting. I'm a werewolf myself." I nodded. _Werewolf?! I didn't even know those existed_! I thought amazed. Then again I was a demi-goddess so I shouldn't be that surprised. Suddenly there was a loud beeping noise.

"Oh, I guess you better get on the train, we're about to leave." The werewolf took my ticket and ushered me onto the train. I looked around. The train was packed with other kids ranging from ten to nineteen. I suddenly felt very out of place, like I didn't belong. I walked through the train car looking for somewhere to sit. Every compartment I looked in was full. I kept getting weird stares from other people as I walked down the car. I opened one compartment and finally found one that wasn't full. I looked in to see a girl with black hair, tanned skin that looked almost gold and she had bright, golden brown eyes.

"Um, excuse me, is this compartment full?" I asked. She looked up at me and smiled.

"No, you can join me if you want." She said. She had an Arabian accent.

"Thank you. My name is Kalonice, by the way." I said while putting my suitcase on an overhead shelf.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Keket. I'm from Egypt." She added.

"I'm from Greece, obviously." I added.

"I can tell. You do look very Greek. Oh, if you don't mind me asking, what race are you?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm a demi-goddess." I said. Keket's eyes suddenly grew wide and a large smile crossed her face. She looked to the side and stifled a laugh.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about how my parents would act if they found out the first person I met here was a demi-goddess." She replied.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well you see, I'm a human, but I have the spirit of a cat inside me. I was a priestess at the Bastet shrine. My mother is a priestess of Isis, and my father is a priest of Osiris. Since I was blessed with the spirit of Bastet in me I can read spells out of my spell book. Also, Since my parents are priests they would adore you, worship you even, just because you're a demi-goddess." She explained. I sat stunned. No one had ever adored me before, let alone _worshiped _me.

"Oh, that's…weird." Was all I could think of to say.

"Oh I know it is. I think it's kind of weird too. Then again my parents would be scolding me for not getting on my knees and bowing to you right now too. Excuse me for a minute." Keket suddenly went into her bag and pulled out a pen and paper. She suddenly started jotting something down.

"Um, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Writing a letter to my mom and dad. They'll freak when they find out I met a demi-goddess." She replied and continued to write her letter. I looked out the window. The train had already started moving and we were whizzing past the Greek country side. I put my elbow on the edge of the window and put my chin on my hand. I sighed. _I will get to this school and learn to control my abilities. My destiny as a goddess, the appreciation of my parents, and my place in Mount Olympus depend on it._


	2. Chapter Two: Welcome to Nitesco

**Chapter Two**

**Welcome to Nitesco**

The train rattled on through the Greek countryside. I watched the hills and fields pass by. We passed many olive orchards that held the rich olives Greece had become famous for. I sighed.

"Something wrong?" Keket asked looking up from her book.

"No, just enjoying the view." I replied.

"Oh, alright." Keket said and returned to her book. I looked down at it. It was bound in brown leather that was worn. The pages were stained with age and they made a crinkling sound every time Keket turned the page. There were small pieces of paper stuck to a lot of the pages, almost like bookmarks.

"What is that?" I asked the curiosity getting the better of me. Keket looked up at me after turning another page.

"Oh this? It's my spell book." Keket replied looking down and turning another page.

"A spell book?" I asked suddenly intrigued.

"Yes, I guess I would technically be considered a sorceress. I can read the spells from this book and basically do magic." Keket explained still flipping back and forth through pages.

"Can you show me?" I asked. Keket suddenly stopped and looked up at me.

"Well, you see, I guess I could, but I'm not very good at it." Keket replied laughing awkwardly.

"Oh, maybe a simple spell? If not that's fine I've just never really seen magic done before." I said. I didn't mean to pry but I really wanted to see what magic looked like.

"Well, I could try one. It's pretty easy I guess. All I really do is make water appear, it's no big deal." Keket said. My eyes grew wide with shock.

"You can make water out of thin air?!" I asked completely impressed.

"Well, yes, in a sense. You see, magic can also be looked at like a science. The components of certain objects also contain certain particles that can be broken down and remade into other objects of the same mass. That is more commonly known as alchemy. My magic just consists of taking molecules out of one thing and brining it together to create a larger mass," Keket leaned forward and put her hand on the side of her face, "but if anyone asks, it happens because it's the God's will." She said and smiled. I smiled back. I was amazed at the knowledge that Keket had. She knew so much about this "alchemy" and magic. I was genuinely intrigued.

"Now, I don't literally pull magic 'out of thin air' but I can pull water out of thin air seen as air itself is full of moisture, or water molecules. To use the magic all I need to do is recite the incantation and use it to manipulate the water molecules in the air, bring them together, and virtually create water." She finished her explanation, took a breath, and smiled. I found myself leaning forward with my elbows on my knees and my chin resting in my hands. I was waiting eagerly for Keket to start.

"That's amazing." I said.

"Oh, it's not that great. I guess I can show you now." Keket opened her book and started flipping through pages. She stopped on a page marked with a light blue piece of paper attached to it. Keket's eyes flashed over the page quickly. She took in a deep breath and started chanting in a language I didn't know nor did I even come to comprehend the string of words. It was almost like a song drifting throughout the train compartment. It was beautiful. Suddenly Keket's hands started to glow with a bright white light. My eyes grew wide with shock. So this was what magic looked like. Suddenly the glow started to get brighter and without warning there was a sudden loud explosion. Smoke filled the compartment. I started coughing and quickly opened a window.

"Keket are you ok?" I asked bending down to avoid the smoke.

"Yeah, we need to get out of here, the smoke's too thick." Keket replied through coughs. I ran to the door of the compartment and opened it.

"Keket you go first I'll follow." I said through the smoke. I saw a sweep of turquoise linen brush passed my foot. I quickly followed and slammed the compartment door behind me. Keket and I started panting, trying to get fresh air into our lungs.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't believe I screwed up again!" Keket said angrily stamping her foot. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hey, is everybody ok here, yeah? I heard an explosion."

"Tobi heard it too!" Keket and I turned to see two young men coming towards us. One of them was slightly tanned with bright blue eyes and long blond hair. He wore some of the hair on the top of his head in a tightly wrapped ponytail and the rest was left hanging. His bangs were long and fell over his left eye obscuring it from view. He was wearing what I guessed was the academy uniform. The uniform was a black jacket with a brown sweater vest and a white dress shirt underneath. The tie the boy was wearing was striped black and brown. He had black dress pants on and black leather bound shoes. On the jacket was an insignia that looked like a shield with gold lining and the shape of a rock in the middle of it.

The other boy was wearing an orange mask with one hole on the right side and a black spiral around it. His hair was black and spiked up. He was wearing a uniform that was very similar to the one the blond boy was wearing except his sweater vest was red and the tie was striped red and black. Also, his shoes were very expensive looking black leather dress shoes.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just a spell that went wrong that's all." I explained brushing a piece of hair out of my face. I looked at Keket. Her eyes were huge and her cheeks were tinted a light pink. The blond boy walked up to her.

"Are you ok?" He asked staring down at her. Keket didn't answer verbally, but just nodded her head. The blond boy smiled brightly.

"That's good, yeah. What were you guys trying to do anyway?" He asked turning back to me.

"She was trying to do a water spell, and unfortunately…" I trailed off not wanting to embarrass Keket in front of the boys.

"I didn't mean to blow it up! Honestly I didn't!" Keket suddenly said stamping her feet again.

"Hey, don't worry about it, stuff like that happens, yeah." The boy said smiling. _How sweet_, I thought. Keket smiled at the boy but her face was still a light pink that was beginning to become a dark red.

"Oh, how rude of me, my name's Deidara, yeah, nice to meet you." He said putting his hand out. Keket stared at it for a moment and then slowly took it. Deidara shook her hand. Suddenly Keket screamed and jumped back.

"What happened?!" I asked concerned.

"S-something licked me!" Keket said completely horrified.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. My hands just seem to have minds of their own. I guess that means they like you, yeah." Deidara said smiling.

"What are you talking abou…" I stopped as Deidara raised his hands palms out. I gasped. There were mouths on the palms of his hands! They smiled mischievously at us and then stuck their tongues' out before licking their lips. I shuddered.

"Yeah, it's a little weird but I was born this way. My parents say it's because I was cursed and for having such a big mouth, yeah." He said sticking his tongue out playfully. Keket giggled and I just cocked an eyebrow. Suddenly the other boy pushed himself through.

"Tobi wants to meet the girls too!" He said to Deidara. Deidara's face fell and he rolled his eyes obviously annoyed.

"Honestly Tobi why don't you just go back to your cage, yeah?" He asked. Completely ignoring Deidara, Tobi turned and faced Keket and I.

"Hi, my name's Tobi, who are you?" He asked. He put a black gloved hand out. I took his hand and shook it smiling.

"My name is Kalonice." I replied.

"A-and I'm Keket." Keket said from behind me. She hid her hands away probably still concerned about being licked by the mouths on Deidara's hands.

"Wow, Tobi thinks you're pretty." He said to the both of us. Keket blushed brightly but I smiled.

"Thank you Tobi." I said releasing my hand from his. Tobi suddenly turned and faced Deidara.

"Tobi met pretty girls Deidara." He said happily.

"Tobi, go back to the compartment, yeah." Deidara ordered. Tobi's happy exterior suddenly slumped.

"Ok, Tobi will go back." And he slowly slunk away.

"Did you have to be so mean to him?" I asked watching him go.

"Oh please, he's like a puppy, yeah, he gets upset when scolded but give him a few minutes and he'll be just as giddy as before. He is such an annoyance, yeah." Deidara replied crossing his arms. I rolled my eyes and went to look inside the compartment.

"How is it?" Keket asked.

"There's still a lot of smoke in there. I don't think we can go into the compartment for another little while." I replied.

"But, all our stuff is in there." Keket said concerned.

"Yeah but there isn't really much we can do." I replied shaking my head.

"Tobi can get it for you!" I looked over to see Tobi running over to us again.

"No, Tobi it's ok you don't have to." I said.

"No, no Tobi can do it. Tobi's a good boy." He said. Before I could stop him he darted into the compartment and closed the door before even a wisp of smoke could escape.

"Is he going to be ok?" I asked concerned.

"I'm not lucky enough for him to die of smoke inhalation, yeah." Deidara replied coldly. Within a minute Tobi came out of the compartment with our luggage in his hands. I quickly closed the door behind him.

"Tobi you did it." I said smiling.

"Of course Tobi did, Tobi's a good boy." He replied. There were small wafts of smoke coming from his clothes and hair.

"But, what are we going to do now? We can't go back into the compartment while it's still smoking." Keket said sadly.

"Oh, oh Tobi has an idea Deidara! Tobi has an idea!" Tobi said jumping up and down with his hand in the air. Deidara's eyebrow twitched angrily.

"What…is it…Tobi, yeah?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Why don't Kalonice and Keket come to Tobi and Deidara's compartment?" He asked. Deidara stood there most likely contemplating the idea. After a few moments he shrugged his shoulder.

"Might as well, it was just the two of us anyway, I need a break, yeah." Deidara agreed.

"Yay, Kalonice and Keket are coming to Tobi and Deidara's compartment!" Tobi announced. I looked at Tobi shocked. I had never seen any boy so absolutely happy before.

"Do you girls want to come to our compartment, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"I have no problem with it." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"O-ok." Keket replied.

"Alright, we'll take your stuff, yeah." Deidara said. He grabbed Keket's suitcase from Tobi and walked off. Tobi followed closely behind. I looked at Keket and walked with her after the boys. Suddenly Keket grabbed my arm her eyes wide with excitement.

"They have _boys_ here?!" She asked.

"Uh, yes?" I said confused.

"I had no idea! And we're allowed to talk to them, and won't get in trouble?!" She asked.

"Yes, of course you can talk to them. Why would you get in trouble?" I asked.

"Well, back at my temple it was forbidden for the women and men, especially at my age, to even speak with each other. The only men I ever really talked to were my father and the other priests. I think the only other boys I talked to were my friends Gaara and Kankuro, but I've known them since I was young." She explained.

"Is that so? I never lived in such restrictions. I could talk to whomever I wanted to. But I suppose our lives are too different to really compare." I said.

"True, but now look! I can talk to boys all I want! This is so exciting." She said her eyes gleaming. _She must have been nervous before because she thought she'd get in trouble for talking to Deidara and Tobi_, I thought. I smiled and shook my head.

"Something wrong?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"No, just thinking to myself." I replied. Finally Deidara and Tobi stopped in front of their compartment. Deidara opened the door and stepped to the side.

"Ladies first, yeah." He said sweetly. Suddenly Tobi started walking in. Deidara quickly grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pulled him back.

"I said _ladies_ first not idiots, yeah!" Deidara yelled angrily.

"But Tobi wants to sit down." Tobi whined.

"That's it, yeah! Death by suffocation!" Deidara said. He jumped at Tobi and wrapped his legs around his neck. Tobi started struggling. Keket and I stared at them completely shocked.

"What do we do?" Keket whispered.

"I think we should just go sit down." I replied not wanting to get in the middle of the fray. I quickly walked in the compartment and sat by the window. Keket did the same and sat across from me. We waited for a few minutes before Deidara and Tobi finally came back into the compartment. They put our luggage on the overhead shelves and sat down. Deidara sat beside Keket and Tobi sat beside me. The compartment fell into silence.

"Kalonice what are you?" Tobi suddenly asked breaking the silence.

"Um, excuse me?" I asked confused.

"He wants to know what race you are, yeah." Deidara replied angrily. His arms were crossed and his eyebrow kept twitching.

"Yeah, yeah what race is Kalonice?" Tobi asked again.

"Oh, uh, I'm a demi-goddess." I replied. Deidara's arms uncrossed and everyone stared at me.

"You're a demi-goddess, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Yes…is that bad?" I asked.

"No, it's not bad. It's kind of impressive actually. There aren't many demi-gods at Nitesco, yeah." Deidara said.

"Oh, I see." I replied.

"And what are you Keket, yeah?" Deidara asked turning to her. Keket sat up smiling.

"I'm a sorceress and possessed by the spirit of the Egyptian Goddess of cats Bastet." Keket replied without even skipping a beat.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive, yeah." Deidara said smiling.

"Thank you." Keket replied.

"What about you two?" I asked.

"Tobi's a vampire, Tobi's a vampire!" Tobi said pointing to himself.

"And I am an elf, yeah." Deidara said. I looked at Deidara and suddenly noticed his ears that tapered to a light point. _How did I miss that before_? I asked myself.

"Wow an elf that must be so interesting." Keket said completely serious.

"Well it's not that interesting…" Deidara began explaining about his life as an elf and about his culture. Keket listened intently and added questions and some commentary as Deidara went on. I turned my head and stared out the window. We had already gone through most of Greece and soon most of the Italian countryside was going past the window.

Deidara had finished talking about elfs and Keket was already deep in conversation about her own culture and heritage. I couldn't help but notice how flirty she had suddenly gotten with him. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Is Kalonice ok?" Tobi asked. I turned and looked at Tobi almost forgetting he was there.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just want to get off the train." I replied.

"Oh Tobi does too. Tobi doesn't like to be in one place for too long." Tobi replied. I smiled. That much wasn't very surprising. Tobi had enough trouble sitting in one spot for long so this train ride must have been driving him nuts.

"Do you have your uniform yet Kalonice?" Tobi asked.

"Oh, not yet. I think I'll get it when we get to the school." I replied.

"Oh yes most likely. Which house do you think you'll be in?" He asked.

"House?" I asked confused.

"Yes, Nitesco has four houses each student gets placed in. Terra, Aqua, Aeris and Ignas. Tobi's in Ignas and Deidara is in Terra. What would Kalonice be in?" He asked again.

"Oh, I'm not very sure actually. I've never really thought about it." I replied.

"Tobi hopes you're in Ignas because then we can be best friends." He said happily.

"That sounds…fun." I replied smiling.

"Well you can have Kalonice, I think Keket should join Terra and hang out with me, yeah." Deidara said. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders teasingly. Keket blushed and pushed Deidara away.

"Deidara you're so funny." She said. _I think I'm going to puke_, I thought but just smiled. I looked out the window.

"Hey, isn't that a village?" I asked. Everyone looked out the window.

"Oh yeah, there's a few small villages we pass before we reach Rome. We must be getting pretty close if we're already passing one." Deidara replied. I couldn't help but notice how close he leaned towards Keket. He was practically draping himself over her shoulders, and she didn't even seem to notice. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back out the window.

We passed many more villages as we went and Deidara and Keket were continually making random conversation and Keket was flirting constantly. Tobi was silent but continued to fidget every other second. The sun was slowly beginning to dip closer to the horizon. It had to be closer to three or four. I was surprised at how quickly the train could cross the Greek land and make it to Italy in such a short amount of time. _Maybe it's a magic train_, I thought and giggled at myself for even thinking something as silly as that. There were normal humans on this train as well so they would know if something like that was up and as far as I could tell, this school was all about privacy and secrets.

"Something funny?" I turned to look at Tobi who was staring at me. At least I thought he was, it was hard to tell with his mask on.

"Oh, no, I was just thinking to myself that's all." I replied. Deidara and Keket were still deep in conversation. _What in the world did they have to talk about? They only just met_, I thought cocking my head to the side while looking at them. I was never very good at making conversation. Only when it was for the Gods did I manage to put my own input and ideas into the conversations, though I didn't have much seen as I was usually ignored or they smiled and nodded that they heard me, but didn't care. I sighed. I knew it was because they all pitied me, and only because I was the daughter of Aphrodite and Hephaestus.

"Something wrong?" Tobi asked.

"No, nothing's wrong Tobi I'm fine." I replied.

"You don't talk very much do you?" Tobi asked cocking his head to the side. I shivered slightly in spite of myself. The fact he wore a mask and hid his face made it hard to tell what he was feeling let alone thinking, a fact I hated since I had trouble trusting someone whose face I had never seen. Cocking his head to the side, much like a child or a puppy, scared me slightly. Just the manner in which he did it made me think there was something very suspicious and…_wrong_ with him.

"N-no, not really. To be honest I don't actually have much to talk about." I replied. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. There is no way I should be afraid of someone like Tobi, I was a demi-goddess, mortals were supposed to fear me, not the other way around. Then again, Tobi wasn't necessarily a mortal. I shivered again as I remembered that Tobi had told us he was a vampire, a fact that made me mistrust him even more.

"Oh, neither does Tobi. Well, actually, Tobi does, but Deidara gets annoyed at me when I try to talk to him so I don't ever really get to talk." He told me.

"Why do you hang out with him if he treats you so badly?" I asked.

"Because, Deidara's Tobi's partner." Tobi replied. I looked at him shocked. That was his reason? Because they were "partners". Not friends, not even companions, just partners. I suddenly felt pity for Tobi. Deidara was the closest thing he had to a friend, and with a friend like Deidara, who needed enemies?

"Hey Tobi, I think we should be friends." I said. Tobi suddenly turned to me and I could have sworn I saw a glint in his eye that was hidden in the darkness of his mask.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just started at this school so I think it'd be nice to make some friends. So how about it? Want to be my friend?" I asked. Tobi jumped and clapped.

"Yay, Tobi has a new friend! Kalonice is Tobi's new friend!" He said happily. I laughed and smiled. He was just like a little puppy.

"Hey I just realized, I don't know how old either of you two are, yeah." I turned my attention from Tobi and looked at Deidara. He was staring at me and glared quickly at Tobi.

"I'm seventeen." Keket said quickly trying to draw Deidara's attention back to herself.

"I'm also seventeen." I replied. Suddenly a dark gleam filled Deidara's eyes.

"Oh really? I'm eighteen, yeah." Deidara said smiling.

"Tobi's eighteen too!" Tobi said happily.

"Oh, I guess that means we won't have any classes together." Keket said slightly disappointed.

"No actually, we might have some classes together, depending on what you take, yeah." Deidara said.

"Really?" Keket asked her eyes growing wide with excitement.

"Yeah, the classes are separated between primary, junior, and senior students. The primary students are basically grades four to six, juniors are grades seven to nine, and the seniors are grades ten to twelve. So technically you two are in grade eleven and Tobi and myself are in grade twelve, yeah." Deidara explained.

"Wow, I've never been to a public school so I didn't know they worked like that." I said.

Tobi gasped. "Kalonice has never been to a school before?" He asked shocked.

"No, I was home schooled since I was younger." I replied.

"Sounds boring, yeah." Deidara said resting his arms on the top of the seat behind him.

"Not really, especially when your tutors are Gods like Athena, Poseidon, and Zeus himself." I replied. That shut Deidara up quickly and he looked at me shocked. I just smiled.

Suddenly there was a sliding noise as someone started to open the door to our compartment. A pale white hand grabbed the door and slowly pulled it open. A man stood in the doorway and I shivered at the sight of him. His skin was deathly pale, his eyes were a bright yellow and the pupils were slit like a snake's. His hair was long, straight, and black. Some strands fell over his face. He had purple marks that went from the corners of his eyes and came to points just near his nose.

He was wearing a black jacket, sweater vest, and a white dress shirt. His shoes were black dress shoes and his pants were black dress pants. He had what looked like a coat of arms on his jacket. He smiled at us and we all fell completely silent.

"The headmistress just wanted me to warn you that we should be arriving at the school any moment now. So, children, I suggest you get ready. Oh, Deidara, Tobi, good to see you both back again this year." The man said. His voice hissed as he spoke.

"Um, good to see you too professor, yeah." Deidara said without looking up. Tobi remained silent his mask looking right at the professor.

"And I see we have some new students joining us as well. I hope you've been treating them well." He said looking from Keket and then to me. I shivered slightly again. His gaze was terrifying, and rather creepy. It was more like he was _observing_ us rather than just looking at us.

"Yes professor we are, yeah." Deidara said. He turned and glared slightly at the man.

"Very good, see you students at school." He said and then slowly closed the door. We were silent listening to him walk away. As soon as he was gone Deidara glared at the door.

"I hate that man, yeah." He whispered under his breath.

"Why? Who is he?" I asked.

"Professor Orochimaru. He's a teacher at Nitesco, yeah." Deidara explained.

"What does he teach?" I asked.

"Potions, and he's really good at it I have to admit, but I refuse to take that class since he teaches it, yeah." Deidara spat. I wanted to press for more information about Professor Orochimaru, but I could tell it was a subject Deidara preferred to ignore. I searched for another question to ask to change the subject and change the sour mood that had filled the air.

"Um, so, uh…" I started but couldn't think of anything.

"Oh, I just realized something, Kalonice and I don't have our uniforms nor do we know what classes we're in." Keket suddenly said looking concerned. I sighed with relief. At least someone stopped the awkward silence from lasting.

"Oh, that's easy, yeah. When we get to the school the students who are returning to the school will just go straight in and up to their dorm houses. As for new students you go off with a teacher, it changes every year, and you get sorted, your uniform, you sign up for your classes and then get a quick tour of the school before getting sent up to your dorms to meet with your house's head teacher, yeah." Deidara explained.

"Oh, that doesn't sound so hard." Keket said and smiled. I smiled as well but it faded as the train horn sounded. All of us looked out the window and could see a train station coming into view.

"We're finally here." Deidara sighed and smiled. Keket's eyes were wide with excitement. It was hard to tell what Tobi was thinking but his constant fidgeting was getting worse. Eventually the train started to slow and finally came to a stop. We all stood and started to get our suitcases down from the overhead shelf.

"Tobi will get Kalonice's!" Tobi said happily and grabbed my luggage before I could even move a finger. Deidara rolled his eyes and got Keket's down for her and carried it out. Keket followed behind with Tobi coming out behind her. I looked around the compartment and sighed before coming out after them. Deidara led us through the train and passed the other students who were trying to get off the train. We finally made it to the door and walked onto the platform. The sun was slowly dying in the sky but the heat was overpowering.

"Man why do they make us wear black in this heat, yeah?" Deidara asked fanning himself. Sweat was already beading on his forehead.

"Actually, I think it's quite nice out." Keket said. She took in a deep breath and sighed happily.

"I agree with Keket, the weather is very nice." I said. We smiled at each other. We both came from regions that were hot all year round so coming to Rome was not as bad as it would be for those who came from colder climates.

"Well of course you both would, you're wearing light clothing." Deidara said trying to cool himself down.

"All students who are returning to the school please start heading towards the school please, I repeat, all students returning to Nitesco Academy please start heading towards the school!" A voice shouted from the corner of the station. I looked over to see it was a man with spiked up brown hair and a black beard that went down the side of his face and stopped just under his chin. He had a cigarette in his mouth and he was wearing a teacher's uniform like professor Orochimaru's. His eyes were black and he was leading everyone in the right direction.

"So Professor Asuma is the teacher this year, yeah." Deidara said. He dropped Keket's luggage.

"Are you leaving?" Keket asked sadly.

"Yeah, we gotta get going to the school, yeah. I'll catch up with you guys later. Can't wait to see which house you get put into, yeah." Deidara said and winked. Keket smiled.

"But, but, but, Tobi doesn't want to go! Tobi wants to stay with Kalonice." Tobi complained. Deidara turned a fierce glare on him.

"Tobi stop whining and let's go! I want to get settled before I miss dinner, yeah." Deidara yelled. He started walking off.

"Deidara wait for Tobi!" Tobi yelled. He lightly placed my luggage on the ground for me. Before I could stop him he wrapped his arms around me.

"Bye Kalonice. Tobi will see you around." He said. I awkwardly hugged him back.

"Y-yeah, bye Tobi, see you later." I said.

"Be careful who you talk to at this school, remember there is no such thing as trust." I stood shocked. What happened to Tobi? He sounded so, dark, not the usual happy Tobi I had listened to before.

"W-what?" I asked confused. Suddenly Tobi let me go and coked his head to the side.

"What are you talking about Kalonice? _Tobi_ didn't say anything." He said his usual happy demeanor coming back.

"Wait, but I thought, I could have sworn you…" I stuttered.

"Sorry Kalonice but Tobi has to go now or Deidara is going to leave Tobi behind. Bye Kalonice, bye Keket." Tobi said. He waved and ran off to catch up with Deidara. I waved after him and Keket did the same.

"He's so hyper, but cute." She said smiling.

"Yeah, cute." I replied. I hugged myself as a sudden chill raised the hairs on my arms. Something was wrong, but I didn't understand what it was or why I felt that way. I watched Tobi run after Deidara and shivered again.

"Cold?" Keket asked.

"What? Oh, no I'm fine. Do we know where to go yet?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Not yet but I'm sure we'll find out in a minute." Keket said. We stood on the platform waiting.

"Would all first-year students please come over here? I repeat, would all first-year students please come over to where I am." Keket and I looked over to see a lady with wavy black hair and bright red eyes calling out to everyone and directing them over to her. Keket and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, grabbed our suitcases and walked over to her. When a large group of us, Keket and I the oldest people in the crowd, had found their way over to the lady she smiled and started introductions.

"Hello everyone. My name is Professor Kurenai and I'm going to be giving you a small tour of Nitesco and getting you settled in. First of all, I need you all to follow me to the subject pavilion where you will be signing up for the courses you wish to take as well as being sorted into your appropriate houses. Follow me." Professor Kurenai started walking forward and we all followed. She was heading in the direction opposite of where the other students had gone.

After walking for about ten minutes we came to another building that was beige but with a white roof. There were pillars holding the roof up and stairs leading into it. The windows on the building were large with stained glass and the building was two stories high. Professor Kurenai continued forward and we all followed silently. We finally entered the building and were immediately hit by a blast of air conditioning.

"Alright, primary students please step to the far left, junior students in the center and senior students to the far right. You'll be picking your courses then you will be sent to the second floor where you will be placed in your appropriate house and given a uniform. After you have your schedule and uniform you may meet me outside the building where I'll take you around the school grounds and then into the school itself." With that final remark Professor Kurenai left the building. Keket and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and entered the line for seniors. We were the only two in the line.

"Name, age and race please." The person behind the desk said. He was tall and surprisingly handsome with a cloth across his nose, black eyes, and black spiked hair. I looked at Keket and she put her hand out offering to let me go first. I nodded and walked forward.

"Kalonice, seventeen, demi-goddess." I said. The boy looked up at me shock on his face.

"Demi-goddess? Wow, impressive." He said and smiled slyly. I smiled sweetly in return.

"Well here's a list of the courses you can take. They're separated into days A and B with 5 classes per day. Breakfast is from 8 until 9, if you're not there during that time you starve, lunch is 12 until 1, and then dinner is served from 6 until 7. After dinner you can walk around the school and such but you have to be in your dormitory by 11 at the latest. If you're caught outside of the dorms after 11 you will be punished. Now fill out the courses you want by checking them off and then bring the sheet back to me." He smiled at me and handed me the course selection sheet. I took it and walked over to a small desk with a tin of pencils on it. I looked over the sheet and began checking off boxes.

After almost half an hour of checking and erasing boxes I had finally chosen the ten courses that interested me the most. Keket looked up and smiled as she finished her sheet as well. We both walked over to the same guy from before and handed in our sheets.

"Ok, give me a few minutes to run this through here…" He trailed off as he put my sheet in a large machine that greatly resembled a photocopier but had illegible markings on it. He whispered something under his breath and a white light surrounded the machine. We waited a moment before the light disappeared. The man took the sheet and handed it back to me. To my surprise the boxes I had checked had rearranged themselves into a timetable split up into Day A and Day B. I looked at it, folded it, and then placed it safely in my purse.

"Ok, and now I'll take yours…" The man took Keket's and did the same to hers. Keket took her schedule and together we walked upstairs. The line up here was longer seen as it consisted of every new student instead of being split up.

"Know what house you might be in?" Keket asked while we waited.

"Absolutely no idea." I replied shrugging my shoulders.

"I hope I get put in Terra, or even Ignas, that would be fun." She replied looking around dreamily.

"You just want to be in those houses because Deidara and Tobi are in them." I said cocking my eyebrows.

"Oh, you think so?" She said eyeing me slyly. I looked at her shocked and my face fell.

"You have no shame." I told her. She just smiled and continued to look around innocently.

We didn't say anything through the entire line other than random questions that never really made it into full conversation. Finally it was our turn. Keket went first. She walked forward to a man with a scar across his nose and black eyes. His brown hair was pulled back in a tight spiked pony tail. He smiled at Keket as she walked forward. She sat down in a seat beside the desk and he started talking to her. I guessed he must have been asking questions since after every sentence he stopped and Keket said something in return. They were speaking too quietly for me to make out any coherent words. Finally the man gave Keket a piece of paper. She took hold of it and focused on it intently. Suddenly the paper fell limp and started dripping water. Iruka nodded his head and began jotting down notes. He then said something to Keket and she stood and went behind a large curtain.

After a few minutes Keket came out from behind the curtain and moved to the side. She was holding a uniform and she looked happy but there was an air of disappointment around her. I went up next. I sat down in the chair and the man smiled at me.

"Hello there, my name is Iruka, Professor Iruka. Welcome to Nitesco. Now I need your name, age, height, weight, race, and what length skirt you would prefer. There is short, knee-length, and long." I took a deep breath and began answering the many questions he had asked me.

"Ok, my name is Kalonice, I'm seventeen, 5'7", 123 pounds, I'm a demi-goddess, and I would prefer a short skirt." I replied. Professor Iruka nodded his head and jotted down some notes on a piece of paper he had with him.

"Ok, can you tell me three subjects you have on your schedule, name them at random."

"Um, ok." I pulled out my schedule and read it over. After looking at it I returned my attention to Professor Iruka.

"Literature, languages, and divination."

"Oh, interesting choices. Now that the small introductions are over I want you to take this piece of paper and focus your energy into it."

"Focus my what?" I asked confused.

"Your energy. That paper will take your energy and then I'll know indefinitely what house you should be in." I looked at Professor Iruka and cocked an eyebrow. When he just smiled I sighed and looked at the paper. I "focused" my energy into the paper. For a moment nothing happened, but then I started to notice the fine details of the paper. The contours of the pieces of parchment all intertwined. I felt a small vibration in my fingers which soon turned to a slight tingling sensation. Then suddenly, and right in front of my own eyes, the paper split perfectly in half between my fingers.

"Ho-how did I…?" I looked at the paper shocked.

"This paper is used to judge a person's energies and tells us basically what house would best suit you. Looks like you are in Aeris." Professor Iruka nodded to himself and wrote it on his note.

"S-so am I done?" I asked.

"Yeah, just take this sheet and head behind that curtain there. They'll take your measurements and then give you a uniform." Professor Iruka passed me his note. I stood up and headed behind the curtain.

"Welcome!" I jumped as a loud voice sounded out. It was a woman with purple eyes and purple hair pulled back in a spiked bun. She was smiling brightly with her hands on her hips. She had a yellow tape measure around her neck.

"H-hello." I replied. The woman ran over to me and pushed me forward.

"Well don't be shy come in, come in and let's get you all measured out. Can I have your sheet please?" She asked. I nodded and gave her the sheet. She took it from my hand and read it over.

"Oh Kalonice that's pretty. And a short skirt huh? Good choice, your long legs are perfect for that length." She said happily and smiled.

"Oh, thank you." I said blushing slightly.

"Now then," she said taking the tape measure from around her neck and pulling it tight, "let's measure you." She came over to me and before I could stop her she was measuring my hips, waist, chest and shoulders before I even had a chance to react. She turned me around quickly and measured the length of my arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. She turned me back around and smiled.

"All done." She said with a bright smile. My eyes were still spinning from being turned too quickly. The lady walked over to a huge closet that covered the left wall and opened a door. She looked for a moment and then pulled out a black jacket, black sweater vest, black and white striped tie, black blouse, and a white short skirt. She handed them to me and smiled.

"There's a uniform, it should fit, my measurements are never wrong." She said proudly.

"O-ok, thank you." I said. She suddenly grabbed me again and rushed me to the exit.

"Now have fun at school I'll see you around." She said. She winked and waved as I went out through the curtain. I quickly ran over to Keket.

"Ready to go?" I asked hurriedly.

"Well if you are then-"

"Ok let's go." I said and pushed Keket back downstairs and out of the building. I continued to push her when we suddenly hit something. I looked out from behind Keket to see a tall man in front of us. His hair was silver and slicked back. His eyes were red-violet and he was glaring darkly at us.

"Hey, why don't you watch where the fuck you're going?" He spat.

"Oh, sorry, I was being pushed and…forgive me!" Keket suddenly yelled and fell to the ground bowing.

"Whoa, what the fuck?" He took a step back looking completely confused.

"Um, Keket, what are you doing?" I asked just as confused.

"I have to bow and hope he forgives me. He's a male after all and I'm a female. I have to show my respect." She replied. Suddenly the man smiled slyly.

"Well, what the fuck do you know, hey Kakuzu come check this out." Suddenly another man came over. His skin was tanned, his pupils were white and the outside of his eye was black. He had stitches around his mouth, and all over his face.

"What do you want?" He asked coming over.

"Look at this. This chick is fucking bowing to me!" The man said laughing haughtily.

"Why the hell would I care?" The man with the stitches asked.

"Cause she's fucking hot!" He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Unless she's offering to pay us some money I don't care." The man with stitches said. I stood there appalled. What the hell was going on? Who were these two? I glared at them and looked down at Keket.

"Keket, I think you can get up now." I said angrily.

"No, I can't get up until he gives me permission." Keket shook her head and remained on the ground.

The man laughed. "Dude seriously, this is fucking sweet!"

"Hey, do you mind letting her up? We kind of have to get going." I said to the man. He looked at me and cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry sweetheart but this is my only fucking entertainment of the day so you can fucking forget it. Actually now that I look at you you're pretty fucking hot yourself, seriously. I think you should bow down to me too." I looked at him shocked. How dare he! I was not about to bow down to someone like him. I was a demi-goddess for goodness sake! I bowed to know one except the Gods themselves.

"I don't bow down to those lower than myself." I replied coolly. Suddenly the man glared at me.

"What the fuck did you just say?" He asked angrily.

"You heard me you simpleton. I am Kalonice, daughter of Aphrodite and I will not bow to a lower being like yourself." I replied.

"Who the fuck is Aphrodite? And why the fuck should I care."

"How dare you! Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty and love and deserves more respect."

"Sorry to break it to you sweetheart but the only God I believe in is Jashin. Any other God can go fuck themselves." My jaw dropped. I was about to retort when Keket suddenly looked up.

"Who's Jashin?" She asked.

"He's my God of course." The man suddenly replied turning away from me.

"Oh, how interesting. I'm a priestess of Bastet myself, but I've never heard of Jashin before." She said smiling. The man smiled back and pulled out a necklace. On the end of it was a pendant of a circle with an upside-down triangle in the middle of it.

"This is the symbol of Jashin." He said and kissed it.

"Oh, how very interesting. Bastet is the goddess of cats but I know many other Gods than that." She said.

"Really? Jashin is my one and only God. I guess you can stand up now." He said. Keket smiled and jumped up happily.

"Finally, can we please go now Keket?"

"Hey hold the fuck up sweetheart, Keket and I are trying to have a fucking conversation." The man said glaring at me again.

"Why do you swear so much?" Keket suddenly asked.

"It's part of my religion." The man replied without hesitation.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous." I groaned.

"Hey, look you little bitch I have had it with your fucking attitude."

"_Excuse me_?!" I yelled.

"Seriously you are grating on my fucking nerves. Why don't you piss off so Keket and I can talk?"

"Who do you think you are?!" I asked angrily.

"Name's Hidan bitch, I suggest you remember that." He said. I glared angrily at him.

"I swear to Zeus…" I muttered to myself.

"Bitch please, you don't have the balls." Hidan said shaking his head.

"That's it!" I screamed.

"Bring it bitch!" He yelled back.

"Hey, what is going on over here?" We all looked over to see Professor Kurenai walking over to us. She looked worried.

"Nothing Professor Kurenai, we were just talking." Kakuzu said.

"Is that so? Hidan you're not bothering these girls are you?" She asked eyeing Hidan warily.

"No Professor Kurenai, not in a million years Professor Kurenai." Hidan replied. I could tell he didn't mean it.

"Good, you girls should join the rest of the group, we should be heading to the school soon. Kakuzu, Hidan, behave yourselves." She said before walking back over to a group of students.

"Yes Professor Kurenai, you're a bitch Professor Kurenai, why don't you go fuck yourself Professor Kurenai?" Hidan said after she had left.

"Yeah I thought so. Big words and a big mouth but as soon as the teachers come around you fall to pieces." I said crossing my arms.

"Hey, fuck you, seriously I don't fucking answer to anyone." Hidan said glaring at me.

"Whatever, Keket we've got to get going." I said grabbing Keket's arm. I pulled her away from Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Oh, uh, bye Hidan, I'll see you around."

"Yeah, and leave that bitch behind next time!" Hidan called back. I stomped forward without turning back.

"He was…nice." Keket said as we made our way over to the group.

"Yeah, like a rattlesnake." I whispered under my breath.

"Ok, would you all please follow me and I'll give you a quick tour of the school before you all head off to your dormitories." Professor Kurenai said as we reached the group. She started walking up a small hill. The rest of us followed. In no time we could see the academy in the distance. It was a huge building four stories high. There were light windows on every floor and the school itself was light beige.

"Now from here if you look right you can see Building B which is where we have our alchemy classes. Not too far from it is the Terra dormitory. To the left is Building A which has divination and religious theory. Just above that is the Aeris dormitory. If you keep going straight from here you'll eventually find Building C which has sorcery classes and Building D which has home economics. Next to Building C is the Ignas dormitory and next to Building D is the Aqua dormitory.

"If you go straight past Building A you'll eventually go behind the school where the terrain has many hills and small forests. It is a popular meeting place and hang out but you are forbidden to go beyond the hills without permission. Now follow me and I'll show you the main building." Professor Kurenai explained. She went down the hill and headed towards the main building. She stepped off the hill and eventually came to a cobblestone path that led to the main building. She walked on it until she came to a type of courtyard just before the main building.

"This is the courtyard of the school. There are stone tables and chairs for students to sit on. You can eat your lunch out here or study in the warm weather." Professor Kurenai said. I looked around. The courtyard itself was beautiful. The stone chairs and tables were light beige like most of the school. To the left there was a beautiful fountain spurting out crystal clear water. There were potted plants set up around the courtyard and there was a black fence around it. Professor Kurenai started walking forward again and entered the main building. Again we were hit with a burst of cool air. The inside of the school was magnificent. The lobby was large and had beige and tan checkered floors. There were sweeping staircases that led to the fourth floor. Statues adorned with Roman armour were everywhere as well as paintings and sculptures.

"This is the main building of the school. Each floor holds different subjects. On the first floor you have your gym and combat classes, sciences, as well as the cafeteria and library. The second floor has the art classes including music, art and drama. The third floor has all the history classes and the fourth floor has languages, literature, philosophy, and other language arts. That pretty much sums up the entirety of the school. Any questions?" Professor Kurenai asked turning to the rest of us.

"What subject do you teach?" Someone in the group asked.

Professor Kurenai laughed. "I teach chemistry on the first floor. Any other questions?" She said smiling. When no one answered she nodded and smiled again.

"Then I hereby welcome you all to Nitesco Academy. Please feel free to look around but be quiet. There are some classes that have already started. Dinner will be served at 6 but until then feel free to look around. I suggest you go to your dormitories first to get changed into your uniforms and unpacked. Hope to see you all around and I hope you enjoy it here." She said smiling and with a whip of black hair turned and walked away. Keket and I looked at each other and immediately headed outside. The air outside was warm and the air was refreshing.

"I can't believe we're really here." Keket said in awe of the courtyard.

"I can't either really. I think I'm going to head to my dormitory now." I said turning to Keket.

She nodded. "I will too. I can't believe our dorms are on opposite sides of the school." She said sadly.

"I know, but at least we'll see each other in class and around the school. Don't forget we also get to see each other at breakfast, lunch, and dinner." I said trying to cheer her up.

"You do have a point." She said smiling. I smiled back and turned to go.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I think I'm just going to go to bed, I'm not hungry" I said waving.

"Ok, see you tomorrow." Keket replied and we parted ways.

The walk to the dorm was pleasant and quiet. No one was really outside since they were either in their dorms or already in class. I continued to walk until I finally came to what I decided must have been the dorm. The dorm was two stories high and, like every other building, beige. The only difference was the roof was white and there was a large crest above the door that had two swirls that must have represented blowing wind. I walked up to the door. I was shocked to find the door didn't have a handle or a knob. Instead there was a large empty crest on the front of the door. _What am I supposed to do_? I thought to myself confused. I looked around the door and still couldn't figure anything out.

"You're supposed to scan the crest on your uniform." I jumped as a voice sounded behind me. To my surprise there was a girl standing there. She had blond hair tied back in four spike pigtails, two on the top of her head and two on the bottom. She had teal eyes and was leaning on a fan almost the same size as her. She was wearing a uniform that resembled mine but her skirt was knee-length.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked.

"It's a magic lock to keep students from other houses from entering the dorms. If you move I can show you." She said. She walked forward and stood in front of the door.

"I, Temari, request entrance into the house of Aeris." She said. Suddenly a white light emitted from the empty crest and it covered the girl, Temari's, body. Suddenly the same symbol on the crest above the door glittered and appeared in the center of the door. The door slowly slid up and opened.

"That's all you have to do, just repeat what I say but use your own name. I would stand back though, the door will reject anyone except me." She explained with a cocky smile. She slowly took a step forward and entered the dorm. As soon as she was past the door slammed back down and the glittering symbol disappeared. I stared at it and swallowed hard. I took a step forward and put my jacket up so that the symbol faced the door.

"I, Kalonice, request entrance into the house of Aeris." I said slowly. Suddenly the white light appeared. It surrounded me and I was covered in the light. Finally it disappeared and the glittering symbol appeared again. The door slowly slid up. I took a few steps forward before walking in. I was nervous and kept thinking the door was going to slam on me but it stayed securely opened until I finally made it into the dorm. It closed behind me and I was stuck inside a dark hallway. I slowly walked forward. Eventually I made my way to an opening that led into a large room.

The room was huge with a bookcase in one corner and desks and chairs everywhere. There were large windows around the room allowing light to filter in giving the room a warm and glowing feel. The floor was white and black checkered and most of the furniture was white. There were some students already hanging around reading and talking. They stopped talking and looked at me as I walked in.

"Who's that?"

"I have no idea."

"Is she new?"

"She's hot." The whispers continued around the room. I took a deep breath. _Remember Kalonice, you are perfection. Let nothing show, just remain calm and make them do the watching_. I told myself. I shook my head to get stray strands of hair out of my face and smiled. I looked up, chin held high, and walked into the room. There was a winding staircase that went to the second floor. I made my way towards it without a hesitation.

"Hey, can I get your bag?" Someone asked. I turned to see a boy offering to take my bag.

"Oh, thank you." I replied and smiled. Instantly I was surrounded by people who were offering to help me upstairs and help find my room. Most of them were boys but that was not surprising. They took my bags and led me upstairs. They went down a hallway and continued that way until we finally came to a room that had my name on it. I took my bags and smiled at them.

"Thank you." I said and walked into the room. The people were asking me random questions but I politely closed the door on them. I leaned against it and sighed.

"Thank Hera that's over." I breathed.

"Having problems?" I stood up straight completely caught off guard and looked to see the girl with the blond hair from before sitting at a desk on the left side of the room reading.

"Oh, no, just a little…_claustrophobic _I guess is the right word."

"Yes, popularity will do that to you." She said not looking up from the book.

"So, I guess you and I are roommates?" I asked.

"Is it that obvious? The left side is mine and the right side is yours. Feel free to decorate your side as you see fit, but don't touch any of my stuff." She said. I looked at my side of the room. There was a bed, desk, and chair along the wall. There was also a dresser and armoire for my clothes. The girl's side of the room looked exactly the same but she had some flowers as well as many origami shapes around her side. The room was surprisingly spacious considering all the things in it and there was a door that led into a bathroom.

I walked over to my bed and placed my suitcase on the bed. I quickly and quietly unpacked.

"Oh, um, my name is Kalonice." I said after putting the last of my clothes in the dresser and my libra on the desk.

"Temari." The girl replied.

"It's nice to meet you Temari." I said trying to be friendly.

"Yeah, whatever." Temari replied and turned another page. I looked at her and sighed. _I have a feeling we are going to have a very quiet relationship_. I thought. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out a simple nightgown. I quietly changed and walked over to the bed.

"Um, Temari, I'm really tired so I'm just going to go to bed for the evening." I said. Temari was silent for a moment. She turned another page and then closed her book. She stood and turned to look at me.

"Suit yourself. It's almost dinner time. I'm going to go get something to eat and I guess I'll stay downstairs so you can sleep." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"Thank you." I replied. Temari nodded and slowly left the room. I sighed and fell back on my pillow. I put my arm over my eyes.

"I can't believe I'm here." I whispered to myself. I lifted my hand into the air and stared at it. It was so odd, being in the school. The train ride had made me anxious but now that I was here, it just felt so odd, so _new_. I sighed and rolled on my side. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep but what Tobi had said to me before was repeating itself in the back of my mind, "_Be careful who you talk to at this school, remember there is no such thing as trust_".

I awoke to a light tap on my shoulder. I turned over to see Temari standing above me. Her blond hair was wet and falling forward.

"Hey Kalonice, if you want to get some breakfast you might want to get up." She whispered. I sighed and slowly sat up. I looked around the room and rubbed my eyes.

"Thank you Temari." I yawned. She sighed and went over to her side of the room. It was then that I noticed she was wearing a bath robe. _I guess a shower would be nice_. I thought to myself. I sat up and walked over to the door that led into the bathroom. I walked in and turned the light on. It was bright and I had to shield my eyes while they adjusted. When I could finally see I looked around the room. It was a nice bathroom with marble countertops and granite tiled floors. The tap was plated with gold and there was a long mirror behind it. There was a toilet in the right corner next to the sink and the shower ran along the left wall.

I walked over to the shower. It was long and the bathtub was a Jacuzzi. The shower was surrounded by faded glass and there was a towel rack beside it that held two towels. I opened the glass door, took off my night gown, and stepped in. The shower head was large and also plated gold. I grabbed the top of the tap that forced the water through the shower head and turned the hot water on. I cringed slightly as the hot water touched my skin but sighed as my body got used to it.

After a shower that was longer than needed I got out and made my way back into the room. The sun was starting to shine into the room. Temari was sitting on the window ledge reading her book. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out my uniform. I got dressed and walked over to a full-body mirror beside the dresser. The uniform actually looked nice. The skirt did show off my long legs and the jacket fit well around my curves. It actually made it look like I had some even though my mother often said there wasn't anything there.

I looked over at Temari, she was already dressed and her hair was back in the four pigtails. I went back into the bathroom, dried my hair and let the waves fall around me. My hair fell down past my hips and my bangs fell just above my eyes. I quickly did my make-up and put on the golden choker with pearl studs around it and a ruby pendant that I always wore. It was the first present my mother had ever given to me, and the last. I put some bracelets on that were also gold and adorned with Greek designs. After a quick look over I smiled to myself and left the room.

"Are you ready to go?" Temari asked.

"Yes, what am I supposed to use to carry my books and things?" I asked.

"In the first drawer of the armoire there is a book bag that you may use. It has the Aeris symbol on it and your own name. They put it there once they knew you were enrolling in the school." Temari explained pointing to the drawer she was speaking about. I nodded and went over. I opened the drawer and sure enough there was a black book bag with a white handle and clip. The crest with the Aeris symbol was on it and my name was right next to it. I picked it up and looked at it smiling. The bag was amazingly well made.

"Are you coming to breakfast?" Temari asked. She already had her bag and was walking to the front door.

"Oh, yes I'm coming." I replied and followed behind Temari as she made her way out of the room.

Again on the way out of the room I was surrounded by students that I had seen the day before. They asked me more questions and were hoping that they might be able to sit with me at breakfast. I politely apologized that I already had plans to sit with someone else and followed Temari out of the dormitory. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Still feeling claustrophobic?" Temari asked.

"Yes, but I'm used to it. I was constantly given gifts and offerings when I lived at the base of Mt. Olympus and there were always people trying to get a glimpse of me." I explained.

"Mt. Olympus?" Temari asked.

"Oh, yes, Mt. Olympus is a large mountain in Greece. It is impossible to climb it if you're a mortal and the Gods live on the peak of it." I explained. Temari nodded and then fell silent.

"Um, Temari, if you don't mind me asking, what race are you?" I asked realizing that I still didn't know.

"I am an air sorceress from Egypt." She said.

"Oh, that's interesting." I said.

"Yeah it's alright." Temari shrugged her shoulders. I nodded and we continued our walk. Eventually we both made it to the main building of the academy. The sun was staring to shine and the air was warm with a cool morning breeze. Temari led me into the academy and straight forward. We walked past the staircase that led upstairs and down a hallway to the left. She continued to walk straight and we soon came to two gigantic mahogany doors. Temari grabbed the handle of one of the doors and pushed it open. Inside students were already sitting down at long marble tables and there was a strong smell of eggs and bacon.

"So, where do we go to get food?" I asked. My stomach was already starting to growl since I hadn't eaten the night before.

"The line for food is right there. The menu of what is for breakfast is printed on that board there. You can ask for anything that's on it." Temari explained. I nodded and followed her to the end of the line. I looked at the board. They were serving a lot for breakfast and there were a lot of choices. Omelets, pancakes, bacon, sausages, French toast, everything. I decided finally on a plain omelet and two slices of pea meal bacon.

I got to the front of the line and ordered my food. After my food was put on a plate and then on my tray I grabbed a carton of milk and turned to look at the tables. Temari had already gone off to sit with some of her friends and right now the only person I was consciously looking for was Keket. I noticed a lot of students from the Aeris house were trying to get my attention. I ignored them and pretended that I hadn't seen them. Finally a head of dark hair and golden skin caught my eye. I walked over and found Keket sitting at a table already eating her breakfast.

"Good morning Keket." I said smiling. She looked up and smiled brightly.

"Good morning Kalonice, how was your sleep?" She asked.

"Oh it was good. How did you like your dormitory?" I asked in return.

"It was very nice. It took me awhile to get in but a nice boy helped me. I also met my roommate. She's very quiet and shy but she is nice. I believe she said her name was Hinata and apparently she's a siren." Keket explained.

"It took me awhile to find out how to get into my dorm as well. And I met my roommate too. Her name is Temari and she's not very talkative. As for race she told me she was an air sorceress." I said cutting a piece of my omelet and putting it in my mouth.

"Temari is your roommate? That's so cool, I know her from back home!" Keket exclaimed. I nodded and took a drink of my milk. Suddenly there was a thundering of footsteps and two arms wrapped themselves around me.

"Kalonice, Kalonice good morning!" I looked over to see Tobi hugging me tightly.

"Um, good morning Tobi."

"Tobi you idiot get off of her!" Deidara said punching Tobi in the head. Tobi grabbed his head and looked up at Deidara.

"Tobi's sorry. Tobi was just happy to see Kalonice." Tobi said sadly.

"Good morning Deidara." Keket suddenly said happily.

"Oh, hey there Keket. I see you got put into Aqua, and you, Kalonice, in Aeris." We both nodded.

"Aww, and Tobi wanted Kalonice to be in Ignas." Tobi said sadly.

"Sorry Tobi." I said.

"No, it's not Kalonice's fault." Tobi said happily. Suddenly a light ringing noise filled the air.

"Attention students, breakfast will be over in five minutes. Would all students please finish and head to your first period class. Just a reminder that today is Day A and you should follow your schedules accordingly. Thank you."

"Who was that?" I asked. The voice had been female.

"That was the Headmistress Tsunade. I guess we all better get to class. What do you two have now?" Deidara asked. I turned to my book bag and pulled out my schedule.

"Um, I have Literature on the fourth floor with Professor Kakashi Hatake." I said. Suddenly Keket squealed with excitement.

"I have that class too!" She said happily. I smiled. At least I had a class with someone I knew.

"No way! So do I." Deidara said.

"Tobi has it too, Tobi has it too!" Tobi said excitedly.

"So we're all in that class?!" Keket asked excitedly.

"Looks like it." Deidara said and he winked at Keket. Keket blushed and smiled.

"Well, then let's get going." I said and stood.

"Ok, what do we do with our plates?" Keket asked also standing.

"Oh, just leave those on the table they clean everything up with magic anyway." Deidara said shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, alright." Keket and I cleaned up around us but left the plates on the table. We grabbed our book bags and followed Deidara and Tobi. Keket walked forward to talk to Deidara and Tobi slowly stepped back to talk with me.

"So how does Kalonice like the school?" He asked.

"It's definitely big." I replied. We started our ascend up the staircase to the fourth floor.

"Oh Tobi agrees but Kalonice will get used to it in no time." Tobi said and looked at me. I looked at his mask and smiled but I still couldn't tell if he was smiling back or not.

Finally we made it to the fourth floor. Deidara led us down a hallway to the left. At the end of the hallway Deidara took a right into a second hallway. He walked halfway down it and finally came to a door that read "Senior Literature – Professor Kakashi Hatake".

"So this is it?" I asked.

"Yeah, this is it. You guys are new so Professor Kakashi will probably want you to introduce yourselves." Deidara said. He opened the door and we followed him in. The room was already almost filled with students. The professor was sitting at his desk with his feet up. He was reading a book.

"Hey Professor Kakashi." Deidara called. The professor suddenly stirred and looked up. His right eye was black but his left eye was covered by a blue headband. His hair was silver and fell to the left in spikes. He looked completely bored.

"Deidara, good to see you. Tobi here's too huh? Wait, who're those too?" He asked pointing to me and Keket.

"Oh right, these two are new here." Deidara explained.

"Hello." Keket said waving.

"Pleased to meet you." I said smiling. Suddenly the whole class was silent. Keket and I looked to see that everyone was staring at us. Some of the guys were looking us up and down while the girls just stared.

"Huh, I didn't think you could quiet these kids down that fast. Anyway now that everyone is settled I guess you two can introduce yourselves and take a seat." Professor Kakashi said turning back to his book.

"Ok, um, who should go first?" Keket asked turning to me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It honestly doesn't matter to me." I replied.

"Ok, I'll go first." Keket said happily. She walked forward and turned to the class.

"Hello, my name is Keket. I'm seventeen and a priestess of Bastet from Egypt. It's nice to meet you all." She finished with a smile.

"Good, does anyone have any questions for Keket?" Professor Kakashi asked.

"Yeah are you single?" A boy asked. The girls rolled their eyes but there was laughter and high fives from the guys.

"Um, Kalonice, what do they mean by single?" Keket asked turning to face me. I rolled my eyes and put a hand on one hip.

"They're asking if you have a boyfriend, you know, a lover." I replied. Keket's face turned bright red.

"What?! Of course I don't!" Keket exclaimed.

"Excellent." The boy who asked the question said.

"Alright that's enough, you can sit down Keket." Professor Kakashi said. Keket nodded and made her way over to an empty seat on the left side of the room.

"Alright, you're up." Professor Kakashi said. I nodded and stepped forward.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Kalonice daughter of Aphrodite. I'm a demi-goddess of the fates and I'm from Athens, Greece. Thank you." I finished and smiled brightly.

"Good, anyone have any questions for Kalonice?" Professor Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, same question as Keket, are you single?" The same boy from before asked. _This is ridiculous_, I thought to myself but remembered to keep my mask of perfection steady. I smiled and cocked my head to the side.

"Yes I am single, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now." I replied and winked. The boys definitely ate it up. I looked around as drool fell from basically every mouth. Suddenly one of the boys caught my eye. He had long black hair tied back in a loose ponytail. His bangs were parted in the middle and fell just past his chin. He had a beautiful face and his eyes were crimson red. He stared at me completely emotionless. I was shocked. It was the first time a boy had never shown a reaction to me before.

"Alright thank you, go sit in an empty seat." Professor Kakashi said. I nodded and sat down in a seat next to Keket. She smiled at me.

"Wow, I never realized how pretty you are." She said.

"Oh thank you, you're very pretty yourself." I complimented. She smiled brightly.

"Alright, now that that's over with I guess we can finally get started. Keket and Kalonice since you don't have textbooks yet I guess you can share with someone else or something. Now as for everyone else turn your textbooks to-"

"Hey what the fuck do you think you're doing?! Walking on my side of the fucking school?! Who the fuck do you think you are?! If I ever see you on this side of the fucking school ever again I swear I will kick the fucking shit out of you! Now get the fuck out! Yeah that's right you better keep fucking walking!" I looked at Keket and she shrugged her shoulders. Suddenly the door to the classroom burst open. A girl walked in with a scowl on her face. She had what looked like war paint on her face and pointed ears. Her eyes were dark violet and her hair was long and silver with a purple sheen. Her hair was tied back at her neck line. She was wearing her uniform and she had a knee-length red skirt and her white blouse was unbuttoned a little lower than it should have been. Her skirt was red which meant she must have been in Ignas.

"Can I help you?" Professor Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, I'm Eámanë, the new fucking transfer student."


End file.
